


We Didn't Hear About This?

by Wildcard_Rumi



Series: Persona 5 One Shots [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: AkiRen Twin AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildcard_Rumi/pseuds/Wildcard_Rumi
Summary: It's Golden Week, so the Phantom Thieves decide to drive down to Inaba to give Ren a surprise visit, but they discover that Ren has a surprise of his ownHe has a twin!
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Kitagawa Yusuke, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji
Series: Persona 5 One Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731472
Comments: 9
Kudos: 344





	We Didn't Hear About This?

**Author's Note:**

> I just love the Akira Kurusu/Ren Amamiya twin au, so I finally wrote something for it.

"Are we there yet?" Whined Futaba as she tried to stretch her stiff back.

"Almost…" Makoto sighed, growing rather tired of that question. She checked the sat nav again as she neared a crossroads.

"Turn left… And then straight on for two streets… Then another left…" She muttered to herself as she turned the corner.

It was Golden Week. The thieves had decided to surprise their leader… And what better way to surprise him than giving him a surprise visit? They had been in the van for a few hours now and they were starting to grow restless. 

Makoto was joined upfront by Ann, who was absent-mindedly scrolling through her phone.

Ryuji was sat in the middle row, bored out of his mind as Yusuke silently sketched away next to him.

In the back row was Haru and Futaba, quietly chatting about anything that came to mind.

Ren's hometown was a lot quieter than they were expecting. Sure, they knew he lived in the countryside, but they couldn't help but be surprised by how tranquil it was. Although, it might have been because they had grown up in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo…

"Okay, this should be it. That house there on the corner." Makoto announced as she parked the van, pointing to their destination.

"Whoo! Freedom!" Futaba cheered as she flung herself out of the vehicle.

"Finally!" Ryuji sighed in relief as he ran after Futaba.

"You don't need to run! It's not like his house can run away!" Ann shouted after them, rolling her eyes.

"I'm excited too, but there's no need to rush…" Yusuke huffed, trying to contain his excitement at the thought of seeing his boyfriend again.

"Let's not forget that Mona-chan's here as well!" Haru sweetly reminded the group.

Ryuji and Futaba were already at the front door, ringing the doorbell as the others' had barely even left the van.

"Coming!" A voice called out from inside the house. It sounded like Ren… but it sounded kind of… different.

"Yooo, can I help you?" A raven haired boy asked as he swung the door open. He looked like Ren… but he looked… different. His hair was just as scruffy as Ren's but it was styled slightly to the side. He wasn't wearing any glasses. And since when did Ren have his ears pierced? Ryuji and Futaba stared at him, slightly baffled.

"What? You saying you don't recognise us?" Ryuji asked as the rest of the group reached the porch, wondering if Ren was trying to prank them.

"...Am I supposed to?" 'Ren' asked, cautiously raising an eyebrow as he glanced at the entire group.

"Did we get the wrong address?" Futaba whispered anxiously to Makoto.

"I don't know…" Makoto honestly replied. Something felt off, but she couldn't quite figure out what.

"You're not Ren." Yusuke stated, tensing his shoulders slightly. 

"I am not." The boy confirmed awkwardly. The rest of the group looked at the artist in shock. How could he tell?! The boy leaned back into the house and glanced up at the stairs.

"Ren! You got some visitors!" He shouted.

"I'm busy! You know that!" A voice shouted back. Now that voice sounded familiar.

"Yeah, well, they're looking for you and they look pretty confused." The boy replied, lazily leaning on the banister.

"Fine…" The voice huffed in irritation as they heard someone shuffling about upstairs. After a couple of minutes, the very familiar boy appeared at the top of the stairs. The scruffy hairstyle that the group knew and loved, the large framed glasses, the cat sitting happily on his shoulder. No doubt about it, this was Ren.

"What is it no-" The raven haired boy cut himself off as he froze on the top step. He stared down at his friends in disbelief. He shifted his eyes from one member to another.

"Wha-"

"Lady Ann!" The cat cheered happily as he launched himself off of Ren's shoulder and down the stairs.

"Hey, Morgana!" Ann giggled as she picked up the black cat.

"Mona!"

"Mona-chan!"

Futaba and Haru turned their attention to the cat too, glad to see him after all their time apart.

"The hell are you guys doing here?!" Ren asked excitedly, jogging down the stairs to hug all of his friends. The lookalike leaned on the wall, a distance away from the group, smiling contentedly at the scene in front of him.

"We came to surprise you!" Haru cheerfully informed him as he gave her a hug.

"Surprise!" Added Ann with a light-hearted chuckle.

Ren laughed in disbelief. He was over the moon to see everyone again! All he could do was smile. His smile grew even bigger when he saw Yusuke. The artist smiled back.

"I missed you." Was all he said as he gently wrapped his arms around Ren.

"I missed you too." Ren replied as they pulled back. Yusuke chuckled fondly and planted a chaste kiss on Ren's lips. He chuckled again as Ren's cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Oho~?" The other boy snickered as an intrigued smirk made its way onto his face.

"Shut up." Ren hissed through his teeth as he continued greeting his friends.

"So! Um… Who's this?" Makoto finally asked the question on everyone's minds.

"Oh, right, yeah… Um, this is Akira, he's my twin brother." Ren clumsily introduced him. Akira threw the group an easy going wave as he smiled at them.

"You have a twin?!" Ryuji gawked, completely caught off guard by that revelation. Everyone else stared at Ren in shock too.

"Uh, yeah."

Akira's smile fell slightly as he noticed how shocked everyone was by him.

"Wait… Did you not tell 'em about me?" He asked his brother.

"...No, I guess I didn't…" Ren quietly answered. A conflicted look appeared in Akira's eyes for a split second before he quickly began laughing.

"You really forgot something that simple, huh?!" He joked with a huge grin. Ren uncomfortably laughed back.

"Well, make sure you don't forget to feed your friends! Hell, I'll help you prepare stuff!" Akira joked again, patting Ren on the back as the glasses wearing boy walked into the kitchen.

"Feel free to come in, guys." Ren called back.

"Yeah, if you don't mind, could you take your shoes off here? Mum'll kill us both of the carpet gets covered in muddy footprints." Akira added.

"Of course." Makoto politely responded as the group complied to Akira's request.

"Where are your parents?" Ryuji asked curiously.

"Business trip, gonna be getting back here at, like, two in the morning." Akira informed him.

"Oof."

"Yeah, oof is right…"

"W-Where should we sit?" Futaba shyly asked.

"In the living room's fine." Akira nonchalantly replied, pointing to the room in question.

"And you don't gotta be nervous around me… I'm just like Ren, only louder and more annoying." He added, hoping to help the small girl feel more at ease.

"Annoying is right." Ren butted in from the kitchen.

"You're just jealous of my good looks!" Akira rebutted sarcastically.

"We've got the same face, dumbass."

"Is that any way to talk to your older brother?!"

"You're older than me by an hour…"

"Still older!"

"Yup, definitely siblings…" Ann huffed with an amused smirk as she sat down.

"They should be a comedy duo." Yusuke remarked.

"I don't know if I'd go that far…" Haru awkwardly giggled. Akira glanced back at all of Ren's friends from Tokyo as he turned back to the kitchen.

"...Hm." He hummed thoughtfully to himself before jogging into the kitchen to help Ren.

"So, what've you been up to since you got back, dude?" Ryuji asked after Ren had introduced everyone to his brother and sat down next to Yusuke.

"Not a lot really… Just school…" Ren mumbled.

"And here we go again with the usual Ren vagueness…" Futaba puffed.

"I can't help it? That's all I've done…" Ren answered, pushing up his glasses.

"Really? You haven't even got a part time job or something?" Ann asked, quite surprised by Ren's answer.

"Yes, as I recall, you had about five part time jobs in Tokyo…" added Yusuke as he sneakily intertwined his fingers with Ren's.

"Can't get one here. No one wants to hire me." Ren bluntly informed the group. Akira looked away as he absent-mindedly fiddled with his earrings.

"Well, that's rather petty." Haru pouted.

"W-Well, what about what you want to do after school? You've got your guidance forms now, right?" Makoto asked, changing the subject. All of the third years groaned stressfully at those words.

"I've no idea… I haven't filled out the sheet yet, the only thing I've written on it is my name…" Ren sighed.

"Same…" Ann huffed dejectedly.

"I've no idea on whether I should aim for a painting career or if I should play it safe…" Yusuke stated with an unsure expression. Ren gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

"What about you?" Ryuji asked. It took Akira a minute to realise that the blond was looking at him.

"...Oh, me?" He asked for clarification, pointing at himself.

"Yeah, dude. We gotta learn about ya somehow." Ryuji snickered with a friendly smile.

"Oh, damn, dude… I've got no clue what I wanna do… I mean… I'm good at sports and everyone says I have a promising future with baseball, so I guess I'll go for that?" Akira huffed exhaustedly. The future was a tough thing to talk about.

"Oh, you're an athlete too?"

"Yeah. Wait, 'too'? What do you do?" Akira was surprised to hear that. It didn't seem like Ren to befriend someone sporty when he's so… not sporty.

"Well, I mean, kinda… I used to do track and I still kinda do, I just can't do it as much as I used to, 'cause of my leg." Ryuji tried to explain, not sure how to word it.

"Well, that sucks… What happened to your leg?" Akira asked. Ren quickly kicked his foot and gestured at him to shut up. Ryuji noticed this.

"Nah, it's cool, Ren. I don't mind him askin'. Besides, everyone else here knows, he might as well too, right?" He reassured his best friend. Ren frowned worriedly, not wanting to upset Ryuji.

"If you're sure you wanna talk about it…" He muttered.

"Yeah, I'm sure. So, you ever heard of Kamoshida?"

"That shitbag who abused and harassed his students?"

"Yeah, that's him. Well, he took over coaching of the track team and he… did some shit to make me lose my temper and I punched him, so he broke my leg… and claimed it as self defense."

Akira stared at Ryuji in disgust.

"...And he got away with it?"

"Yeah."

Akira stared at Ryuji in disgust and disbelief.

"How-... Wh- Who-... Why- I-...You-... He-.... What?!" Akira struggled to find the words to convey just how much that story pissed him off. Another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Wait… He taught at Shujin! He didn't do anything to you, did he, Ren?!" He asked frantically.

"No, not really…" Ren mumbled.

"Seriously?! He leaked your criminal record and tried to get expelled and you call that 'not doing anything'?!" Ann shrieked, raising an eyebrow at Ren.

"He what?!" Cried Akira, glancing worriedly at his brother again.

"It was nothing. I had it nowhere near as bad as everyone else." Ren answered dismissively.

"That doesn't change the fact that he did stuff to you too!" Protested Akira.

"Speaking of Shujin, you go there now, don't you, Futaba? How's it going for you?" Ren shifted the focus onto Futaba.

"Do you have to change the subject whenever we worry about you?" Haru murmured sadly.

"Yep. Futaba, Shujin; how's it going?" Ren bluntly replied, focusing his attention on Futaba. Yusuke shot a worried glance at Ren. He knew that talking about his problems wasn't exactly one of Ren's strong points, but he didn't have to dodge them that much…

"It's going alright, I guess…" was Futaba's response. An awkward silence enveloped the room.

"... Is that all you have to say about it?" Asked Yusuke.

"Yea…"

"Nothing else?"

"Nah."

"Uhhh, who's your homeroom teacher?" Makoto queried, trying to save the conversation.

"Hiruta-sensei."

"How're you doing with your classes?" Ren added.

"Top of the class in most of them. Not PE, though."

"What about your friends?" Haru tacked on.

"Haven't made any yet."

"What's your favourite subject?" Morgana butted into the conversation. Futaba just scowled before jumping out of her seat.

"Gah! All of this school talk is bumming me out! We're on a break! I wanna see what Ren's real bedroom looks like!" She squawked, sprinting up the stairs.

"Ooh! Me too!" Ann giggled excitedly, running after Futaba.

"Wha-?! Hey! Don't go in my parents' room!" Ren called as he chased after his friends, being closely followed by Makoto and Haru. Yusuke and Morgana exchanged knowing looks before slowly meandering upstairs. Ryuji laughed as he went to run after.

"Hey." A voice stopped him. He turned around to find Akira looking at him with a quizzical look on his face.

"...Ryuji." The punkish boy reminded him of his name.

"Ryuji, right." Akira nodded as he remembered.

"What's up?" Ryuji asked. Something was clearly bothering Akira. The boy fiddled with his earring as he tried to find the best way to say what he wanted.

"Di… Did Ren really not tell any of you about me?" He eventually asked with curiosity in his voice.

"No. We didn't even know that you existed until you opened the door." Ryuji answered honestly. A troubled frown enveloped the raven haired boy's face.

"...Why?" He muttered quietly to himself. Guilt swept over Ryuji. Akira looked pretty hurt…

"Well, hey! I'm sure it ain't anything personal! I mean, Ren had gone through some pretty stressful stuff before coming to Tokyo, plus it was a pretty crazy year, 'specially at Shujin! I'm sure his brain was just too busy dealing with other shit to think about tellin us about his family!" He tried his best to cheer Akira up. Although, he did have a good point… Why didn't Ren tell them?

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess you're right…" Akira puffed, running his fingers through his hair.

"So, you did track, huh?" He asked, striking up conversation.

"Yeah! Yeah, I won tons of track meets in middle school!" Ryuji cheerfully replied. "What about you? You said you did baseball, yeah?

"Yeah, well, I do a bit of everything: baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, rugby, tennis, swimming, hurdles… I dunno, I'm good at sports in general. Baseball is apparently my specialty, though." Akira replied, quite flattered that Ren's friend wanted to know more about him.

"Oh, damn, that's amazin'! Although, it's kinda hard to believe that someone so athletic is related to Ren…" Ryuji laughed.

"Yeah, we get that a lot! Like… I'm the loud, outgoing sporty one and Ren's the quiet, soft-spoken one who would be caught dead holding a sport ball." Akira explained with an amused smirk. Ryuji burst out laughing at that statement.

"That sounds about right!" He gasped out between giggles. Akira smiled back at him. Ryuji seemed like a pretty cool dude to him.

"Holy crap!" They heard Futaba exclaim.

"Don't touch that!" They heard Ren snap back.

"We should probably go up after them." Akira remarked, pointing up at Ren's room.

"Oh, yeah, right." Ryuji awkwardly agreed with him. Akira gestured for Ryuji to go up first and followed close behind.

When the two entered Ren's room, the found the rest of the group gawking at a group of paintings that were leaning onto the far wall. 

One depicted a castle.

One depicted a rather gaudy museum.

One depicted a bank.

One depicted a pyramid.

One depicted a space colony.

One depicted a casino.

One depicted a large ship. 

Futaba was intrigued by the last one, which depicted a small group of people stood before a godlike figure. The figure looked pretty familiar to the thieves. In fact, all of the landscapes in the paintings looked familiar to the thieves. Futaba went to run her fingers across the paint.

"Don't touch it! That one's still wet!" Ren reprimanded, smacking her hand away from the canvas.

"Owwww… What's the big deal?! One little poke isn't gonna ruin it!" Futaba protested, rubbing her now stinging hand. Yusuke had to take a deep breath to keep his composure after hearing that comment.

"I've been working on that painting for the past five hours… You ruin it, I kill you." Ren huffed back, really not willing to let his hard work go to waste.

"Ain't that Yaldabaoth?" Ryuji spoke up, loudly asking the question that was bothering him. Makoto and Ann quickly elbowed him to shut him up.

"It's fine, my family know about the Phantom Thief stuff…" Ren informed them as he began tidying up the paints and paintbrushes that were across his floor. The thieves were dumbfounded by that statement.

"I don't get why you guys are so shocked by that… He went on trial for it, the court kinda had to let us know…" Akira nonchalantly explained. Makoto thoughtfully nodded, trying her best to ignore Ren's bitter scowl.

"On a different note, I never knew that you painted, Ren. These all look incredible… You captured the palaces perfectly." Yusuke changed the subject in an attempt to cheer Ren up. The visit didn't seem to be going too well at the moment… Ren just seemed so down…

"Yeah! I knew that you play music, but I didn't know that you painted too!" Haru enthusiastically added.

"I don't really, these are just for an art project for school. And I haven't played music in ages." Ren dismissively answered as he continued to tidy his room. Yusuke couldn't help but scowl at Ren's response. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting like this?

"What was the assignment for the art project?" Makoto asked, determined to keep Ren talking.

"Just to draw a variety of different landscapes. All the palaces we went to were pretty different, so I figured they'd be good inspiration for the project." Ren mumbled as he carefully placed all of his paints back into their drawers.

"Aw hell…" He clicked his tongue as he noticed all of the stains all over his hands.

"I gotta go wash my hands… Be right back." The glasses wearing boy excused himself and wandered off to the bathroom. Yusuke followed after him.

"Um, sorry about this, but is there a reason why you keep staring at me?" Ann spoke up, looking at Akira.

"Oh! Sorry if I made you uncomfortable! It's just that you look so familiar and I can't for the life of me remember where I recognise you from… It's honestly starting to annoy me…" Akira explained with an apologetic bow.

"Oh, is that it? I'm a model, so you've probably seen me in a magazine or something." Ann informed him with an amused smile.

"Magazine! That's where I know you from!" Akira exclaimed, relieved that the matter wouldn't be bugging him anymore. The whole group just laughed at his overzealous outburst.

Ren let out an irritated huff as he scrubbed his hands. Why did paint have to be so hard to wash off?

"Ren?" A voice called out from behind him. It was Yusuke.

"What's up?" Asked Ren as he continued struggling to wash off the paint.

"Nothing… I just wanted to ask… Are you okay?" The artist replied, leaning on the wall next to the sink so Ren could look at him while they spoke.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Ren answered as he scrubbed at a particularly persistent stain on his knuckle.

"It's just that you seem rather… distant… and sad… If there's something bothering you, I'll happily listen, you know that, don't you?" Yusuke softly whispered to him, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation and make Ren feel uncomfortable. The raven haired boy flinched a bit at that remark.

"I'm… fine." He muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Ren, you really aren't a very good liar…" huffed Yusuke as he pushed himself off the wall. Ren looked away. Yusuke gently wrapped his arm around Ren's waist and spoke again.

"Really, what's wrong? You can tell me anything." He encouraged Ren to talk. Ren stared down at his hands with a troubled frown, his eyes darting about as he considered what to do.

"...I… I just…" He eventually spoke up. Yusuke leaned closer, eager to listen to what Ren wanted to say.

"I just hate being here…" was Ren's confession.

"Why exactly?" Yusuke pushed for more details.

"I feel so isolated… No one talks to me or even looks at me anymore… Hell, even people who used to be my friends avoid me… They say stuff like I'm 'more trouble than I'm worth' and they 'don't wanna be friends with a violent psycho'... I'm sick of it…" Ren began to open up, growing more irritated as he continued. Just hearing that annoyed Yusuke as well.

"Why bother wasting your time on those parasites, then?" He asked. Ren looked up at him with surprised eyes.

"They clearly only care about their reputations, so why waste your time on someone so worthless?" The artist expanded on his previous comment. It was rare for him to use such spiteful language, but he felt that these people deserved it for being so cruel to Ren. The glasses wearing boy looked back down at the sink with a thoughtful expression.

"Besides, it's not like everyone treats you like that, right? What about your parents? What about Akira?" Yusuke continued.

"What about them?" Ren bitterly spat out, turning off the tap after finally washing every stain off his hands. Yusuke's eyes widened at those words. It was clear that there was another issue that Ren wasn't talking about, but Yusuke thought it was best if he didn't question him on it. So, he wrapped his arms around Ren and hugged him instead.

"Wh-?"

"I understand that it's stressful having to deal with constant disdain from everyone around you. But, just remember, you only have to stay here for another year. After that, it's your own life; you can go wherever you'd like. Besides, you'll always have a place to belong: in Tokyo, Next to us… Next to me… Just, keep that in mind, okay?" He whispered into Ren's ear, taking in every last detail of his boyfriend that he hadn't seen in months. Ren stood there in stunned silence after hearing Yusuke's heartfelt speech, his cheeks turning a bright red. Ren awkwardly held out his hands behind Yusuke.

"...I'd hug you back but my hands are still soaking wet." He eventually spoke up. Yusuke couldn't help but laugh as he pulled away.

"It's good to hear that you haven't changed." He chuckled with a fond smile on his face.

"Yup, just the same idiot you've always known." Ren cheerfully agreed, picking up a towel and drying his hands. Yusuke chuckled again.

"The same idiot I know and love."

Unbeknownst to the two of them, someone was stood outside the bathroom, listening to their conversation. A pained frown enveloped their face as they walked away and disappeared into their own room.

Ren was in a much better mood after his conversation with Yusuke. The thieves could be heard chatting and giggling in the living room from upstairs. They had finished the tour of Ren's room and were eventually herded downstairs after Futaba continuously tried to peek into their parents' room. Akira was sat upstairs in his room, reading manga and listening to the cheerful voices. As he sat there, a blond head poked round his doorframe.

"Oh! Here you are!" They said. Akira looked up to find Ryuji smiling at him.

"Is something up?" The boy with the earrings asked as he slid a bookmark into his manga and placed it down on his bedside table.

"Well, yeah, you're up here by yourself! That's ain't fair! Feels like we're leavin' you out!" Ryuji replied, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Akira was surprised to hear that.

"Nah, it's fine, dude! I don't wanna get in the way of you guys catching up with each other." Akira gently declined Ryuji's offer. The truth was that he didn't want to risk upsetting Ren again.

"You wouldn't be gettin' in the way, though? Hell, we all wanna know a lil more about you… Also, Futaba wants to know if you have any baby pics of Ren you can show us." Ryuji insisted. Akira laughed.

"I'm flattered that you're interested, but really, you're Ren's friends, he deserves all that time with you. And I have kid pictures of me and Ren, but no baby pics. Our parents have those. Although, it is kinda hard to tell us apart in older photos 'cause Ren didn't need glasses back then." He chuckled, pointing to a corkboard covered in photos above his desk. Ryuji glanced at all the photos. There were plenty of Akira hanging out with his friends, but he had a section dedicated to photos of him and his brother.

"Who's who in this one?" The blond asked, pointing to a photo of the family at an ice rink. Akira laughed quietly when he looked at the photo.

"That's me happily skating around with our dad… and that's Ren, crying and clinging to the side as our mum tried to pull him off." He explained with a fond smile. Ryuji couldn't but laugh.

"Why was he so scared?"

"Oh, that was our uncle's fault. He's the kinda guy that's full of facts… Just not always facts you want to know. He told us that the blades on ice skates were sharp enough to slice off fingers, and after that Ren was terrified that he'd fall over and lose his fingers." Replied Akira, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh sure, say that to a kid going ice skating for the first time!" Ryuji scoffed.

"I know, right? Mum was so pissed off at him for that!" Akira laughed back as he scanned his eyes across the rest of the photos. The pictures of him and Ren laughing and playing together. He missed those days…

"Oh damn, I remember this series." Ryuji's voice pulled him out of those thoughts. He was holding a game case that he found on Akira's desk. "Although, ain't this the game that came out a couple of months ago?"

"Yeah, it is… Don't get it, though. It sucks." Akira informed him with a disappointed huff.

"Really?"

"Yeah, all the new game's have been sucking for like, the past eight years… and they keep getting worse…"

"Then… Why'd ya buy all of 'em?" Ryuji enquired, pointing to all of the other entries in the shelf.

"Well, I mean… The first entry was the first game I ever played… The second and third games were my whole childhood… I guess just wishful thinking? Nostalgia? I dunno, maybe I'm just boo-boo the fool…" Akira pondered as he stared down at the disappointing game. Ryuji laughed.

"Yeah, I get that… Like, when a TV series just keeps going and going and each season is shittier than the last, but you keep watching just in case it does get better."

"Yeah! Exactly like that! Although, I just want one that me and Ren can enjoy together again… I mean, the second game. We both loved it. We had a memory card each and we'd always compare our high scores and try to beat each other! And we'd always race each other to see who could complete the story modes first!" Akira reminisced, growing more excited as he remembered more details. Another memory popped into his head, making Akira laugh again.

"What's so funny?"

"I-I just remembered something else…!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Y-Yeah. You remember that little garden area of the game where you could raise those little creatures?"

"Yeah, I loved that part!"

"So did we! Well, I can remember one time Ren was playing one of the story modes and he managed to complete it… And then he wanted to show me his pet things 'cause he'd maxed out all of one's stats, but when he entered, he saw my pets! It turned out that he had been playing on my memory card! So, he'd completed the story on my memory card!" Akira told the story, slowly laughing more and more as he continued talking. Ryuji's eyes widened at the tale.

"Oh god no! That's gotta suck!" He snickered with an understanding smile.

"Oh yeah! I was laughing my ass off while he was screaming! I mean, he laughs about it now, but at the time? Boy, he was pissed!"

"Yeah, I bet!"

"Here you are! We were wondering where you'd disappeared to!" Ann announced as she entered the room.

"Oh! My bad, I came to get Akira but we ended up chattin'... Sorry bout that." Ryuji apologised, bashfully scratching the back of his neck.

"Sorry for stealing him from you guys." Akira added with an apologetic wave of his hand.

"It's no big deal, we just wondered where you guys were." Replied Ann, glancing curiously around Akira's room.

"Oh, Ann! Check this out!" Ryuji snickered with a mischievous grin as he directed her attention to the photos on Akira's corkboard. Ann mimicked his grin at the sight before turning to face the stairs.

"Futaba! Get up here! We have baby pics of Ren!"

"Sweet!"

"Oh! I want to see!"

"I'd like to see them as well…"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious…"

"Don't you fucking dare!"

"Sorry, but I think we should be going now…" Makoto muttered dejectedly as she noticed how dark the sky was growing.

"You're going back to Tokyo now…?" Ren mumbled sadly.

"What? Oh! No, we're not! We probably should have told you this earlier!" Makoto replied with a flustered wave of her hands. Ren tilted his head in confusion.

"We're staying in Inaba for all of Golden Week! We just need to leave now because part of our booking for the Amagi Inn included our dinner." Haru informed him with her usual sweet smile.

"Ohhhh! Right, okay, I get it now." Ren muttered in realisation.

"Yeah, trust me, you don't wanna miss an Amagi Inn dinner; they're delicious." Akira added.

"We'll still hang out with you, though." Ryuji reassured the two.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind being annoyed by us! 'Cause you're gonna be stuck with us for a week!" Futaba giggled with a… rather menacing grin… It unnerved Akira but Ren seemed completely unfazed by it. The glasses wearing boy just rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Yusuke.

"I'll see you tomorrow." The artist promised as he wrapped his arms around Ren.

"I'll see you then." Ren whispered back as Yusuke gently kissed his cheek.

"It was great meeting ya, dude!" Ryuji called out to Akira with a big, cheerful smile on his face.

"Yeah, same to you! Thanks for looking out for Ren, it really means a lot!" Akira called back, placing his hand on Ren's shoulder. Ren subtly nudged his hand off.

"It's no trouble at all. If anything, Ren's always the one looking out for us." Yusuke chuckled with a loving smile. The rest of the thieves agreed.

"We've really got to go now if we want to get to the inn on time…" Makoto informed the twins apologetically.

"It's fine. You need to get your money's worth, right?" Ren assured her as he and Akira followed the group out to their van.

"Oh, by the way, make sure you use their open air hotspring! It's amazing…" Akira advised as everyone climbed into their seats and buckled their seatbelts.

"It sounds wonderful!" Giggled Haru excitedly.

"Well, we'll see the two of you tomorrow, then." Makoto huffed after finally getting everything sorted out.

"Sure thing, see you tomorrow." The twins said in unison. The group couldn't help but laugh at their synchronisation. The twins stood at the end of their drive, waving to the others as they drove off. After they had disappeared around the corner, Ren wandered back inside. Akira stayed where he was for a moment, pondering something. With a determined huff, he made up his mind and followed Ren back inside.

"Hey, Ren?" Akira called to his brother as he entered Ren's room.

"What?" Was Ren's reply as he focused on tidying up the mess that was left over by the group's visit.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

Akira frowned and took a gulp to steel himself before finally asking the question that had been plaguing him for ages.

"...Do you hate me?"

Ren froze at those words. He wasn't expecting to hear that at all.

"...What makes you think that…?" He cautiously responded. Akira let out a shaky breath. Things had been awkward between them for too long. They needed to talk about things now. He picked up a few cushions from Ren's bed and placed them on the floor, patting one for Ren sit on. Ren complied with an anxious scowl.

"Do you remember that night you got arrested?" Akira asked. Ren scoffed bitterly.

"Of course, I do. How am I supposed to forget that?"

"Well, you got back home at like, two in the morning, right?"

"Yeah, around then, I think."

"I wasn't asleep when you got back. I heard what mum and dad said to you." Akira confessed. Ren fell silent and looked at the floor. He knew what that reaction meant: Ren didn't want to talk about this. But, Akira had so much he needed to get off his chest, so he kept going.

"'Why can't you be more like Akira?'" He quoted his mother's words. Ren grimaced.

"I wouldn't blame you for hating me after hearing something like that…" Akira sighed dejectedly. Ren remained silent. Akira took this as a cue to keep talking.

"Y'know, Ren, I'm not stupid. I notice all the stuff that happened when we were growing up."

Ren glanced up at his brother with a worried gaze. Akira continued.

"Mum and dad constantly praising me for all my grades and sports accomplishments… But then completely glossing your just as good grades and artistic abilities… I noticed all of it. I noticed how much it upset you. It probably all just boiled over after hearing mum just come out and say it, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Ren spat out.

"You know I got into a huge argument with mum and dad after you left for Tokyo, right?"

Ren looked up at Akira in surprise.

"...Really?"

"Yeah. I finally called them out on their bullshit. To be fair, I probably should have done it years ago… But, just hearing mum tell you to be more like me pissed me off so much! I told them they were just shipping you off so they wouldn't have to deal with you. Told 'em they were shitty parents for treating us so differently." Akira informed Ren, staring up at the ceiling with an irritated frown. Ren was stunned. Akira was always so cheerful… He got into a fight with their parents? He just couldn't believe it.

"Like… Why the hell should you be more like me? You're incredible in your own ways." Akira spoke up again. He caught Ren off guard again.

"...What?"

"You're incredible in your own ways, Ren. Sure you suck at sports and talking to people, but not everyone is good at that stuff. Besides, you're amazing at stuff I suck at! I mean, look at those paintings! And all of the amazing food you cook! What about that dragon plushie you made me when we were eleven?! Hell, your music! Your music is incredible! It makes me sad that you don't play anymore…"

Ren sat there in stunned silence. He couldn't help but peek over at the closet that had his guitar stored inside of it. He couldn't help but remember when his dad told him to stop making that awful racket with his music. A troubled frown made its way onto his face. Akira noticed this and kept going.

"What happened to the good old days? Y'know, when we were each other's best friend? When we'd constantly try to beat each other's high scores in games? When I'd help you make friends at school? When you'd help patch me up after I got hurt again? When I'd try to teach you how to play different sports? When you'd always play the guitar for me and I'd have to guess which song it was? When did things change between us?"

Akira was close to tears. He just wanted his best friend back. Ren didn't know how to respond. He just sat there and stared down at his lap, ashamed by his behaviour. He had never considered how his actions would affect his brother. Akira let out a loud sigh.

"Just… I get it if you don't wanna talk to me, really, I get it… I'd hate feeling like I was living in someone's shadow too… I just… I don't want our relationship to be fucked up because of our parents…"

Akira looked back at Ren. The glasses wearing boy was still silently stared down at his lap. Akira didn't think he was going to get a response.

"W-Well, that's all I wanted to say. So, uh, sorry for wasting your time. I'll let you tidy up now. I'll be in the living room, if you need me." He awkwardly excused himself.

"...I'm sorry."

Akira froze in the doorway as he heard that response. He turned around to find Ren in tears.

"I'm so sorry…" He muttered again in between sobs.

"Hey! Hey! It's okay! You don't need to cry!" Akira gasped as he quickly rushed back over to Ren and gave him a comforting hug.

"B-But, you didn't do anything wrong! And I was so horrible to you! I'm sorry!" Ren exclaimed as tears streamed from his eyes. Akira smiled at him as he patted his back.

"Look, how about this? Let's put all of this behind us, yeah? It was stupid and it wasn't either of our faults. So, let's just pretend it never happened! We're still just stupid kids fooling around, pulling pranks on each other, and all that other crap. How's that sound?" Suggested Akira with a huge grin on his face. Ren lifted his glasses and furiously wiped his eyes, sniffing loudly as he did.

"Yeah… Yeah, that sounds great. I like it." He agreed tearfully with a nod of his head. Akira let out a relieved sigh and stretched out his pinky towards his brother. Ren let out a shaky laugh as he slipped his glasses back on and intertwined his pinky with Akira's. The two boys giggled happily before Akira suddenly yanked Ren over to him, trapping him in a headlock and giving him a noogie.

"Get off!" Ren laughed, slapping his brother's arm lightly. He was glad that they had this discussion. He felt as if he could be himself again. Who cared if no one else at school spoke to him? He had his brother!

"So, uh, those friends of yours… They all seem pretty cool." Akira struck up conversation.

"Yeah, they are! They're all the best!" Ren agreed.

"That Ryuji guy seems really nice. He's a lot of fun to be around." Commented Akira as he lied down on the pile of pillows.

"Oho~? What? You got a crush on him or something?" Ren joked, getting revenge for Akira's earlier teasing of him and Yusuke.

"What?! No! I've only known him for a day! I mean, sure, he's pretty good looking, that blond hair's cool and he's got some nice biceps! And yeah, he's funny and kind and I wanna know about him, bu-... Oh my god, I have a crush on him." Akira sat up with a shell shocked face as the realisation hit him.

"Aww~ Is someone lovestruck?" Ren burst out laughing at his brother's face. Although, it made him happy to hear that someone finally realised how great Ryuji was.

"Oh shut up!" Akira yelled as he threw a pillow at Ren. The two sprawled across Ren's floor, giggling cheerfully until Ren suddenly sprung up.

"Hold on…"

"What's up?"

"Ain't it… kinda quiet?"

"Whaddya mean?" Akira was confused by Ren's sudden shift in behaviour. The glasses wearing twin promptly stood up and began investigating the house. Akira stood at the doorway, having no idea what Ren was searching. After a few minutes, Ren sped back upstairs and past Akira, grabbing his phone and furiously typing away.

"What. Is. Wrong?" Akira asked, completely baffled and desperate for answers.

"Futaba fucking took Morgana with her!" Ren informed him with an exasperated growl. All Akira could do was laugh uncontrollably at that news. 

Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, all he could think of was how glad he was to have his brother back.


End file.
